Interim Minister of Transport, Radu Miruță: "The height of absurdity at CFR: we found in the courtyard of the Ministry of Transport (Obor Station) 21 brand new, modern trains, which have been lying there for months to be faded by the sun."

The interim Minister of Transport, Radu Miruță, accused on Friday of major bureaucratic blockages at CFR, after discovering dozens of new trains that remain unused, while travelers continue to travel in poor conditions.

"The height of absurdity at CFR: I found in the courtyard of the Ministry of Transport 21 brand new, modern trains that have been sitting unused for months, fading in the sun. Meanwhile, travelers endure, in some old trains, broken benches, broken toilets, and lack of air conditioning.

I called the supplier, the project manager, and the contract coordinator to the site. Typically Romanian, they do not agree on the bureaucracy they themselves created and agreed upon 1.5 years ago. During this time, the new ones go out of warranty without having traveled 1 km, after which new "maintenance" contracts appear.

What’s the solution? Put them at the same table and apply the law: exactly as it is written, not how they don’t want to read it, for fear of the consequences.

When? Next Wednesday, at the Ministry of Transport, where I invited the producer from Poland and the responsible structures from the ministry.

Curious by nature, I checked how much localization in Romania was requested through the contract (January 2024) by the Minister of Transport for the construction of the 98 trains and how many Romanian companies were involved in this contract.

Zero localization, nothing produced in Romania, no Romanian company. Some I hear these days claiming 60% production through SAFE, with factories built in Romania, are few; they are the ones who, for larger sums, signed contracts with 0 localization in Romania, with 0 Romanian companies involved," noted Miruță on his Facebook page.